Ntl does it again or was it my bank this time?

[Mama Sumae]

I just received a letter from my bank telling me that i have an unpaid fee of 38 pounds (already cleared since i deposit some money recently).
They explained that this fee is charged when they are unable to pay an standing order or direct debit due to insufficient credit, nothing new here and i am sure some of u seen this before

This supposed direct debit of 9.99 p per month is established with NTL, i do pay 9.99p per month for my broadband service but i pay it trough Girobank.
Every month i receive a ntl bill that i can pay in any bank or post office , i am amazed with this MAGIC Direct debit that appeared in my account since i never give my card or bank details to NTL !!! and doesn’t the bank need your permission to establish a direct debit?????

now they received two payments for the July month one from girobank made by me and other from my bank… So I kind paid the same bill twice and my bank took me 38 quid in mad fees.

[Clunk]

get on to the bank and they will refund the direct debit (this happened to me recently), then get on to ntl, ask to speak to retentions dept, and tell them that their error has made your bank charge you £38 and they will credit you £38 to your ntl account. make sure you speak to retentions because customer services will fob you off.

[Mama Sumae]

I am going to the bank now if things go like Clunk said it will be fine but my previous experience tells me that my bank will blame ntl and ntl my bank so...

Anyway Clunk can u get me the ntl retentions department number i kind of remember the last time i called ntl customer services.

[pak000]

if as you say you havn't given those bank details to ntl, then i would suggest going to the bank and asking to see where this authorisation came from. If they can't provide you with the authorisation, they shouldn't have taken the money and therefore cannot charge you anything. or at least thats what you would think

[Clunk]

there isnt a direct number for retentions as far as im aware, just ring 0845 4540000 and ask to speak to retentions, dont let the customer service agent try and help you, they will only end up wasting your time.

[Mama Sumae]

ok i am just back from the bank and as i predicted they told it wasnt their fault and i should contact ntl, since they never provided ntl with my account details. I asked how the bank can allow ntl to establish a direct debit without my permission, they answered the bank didnt need to ask my permission since the company had my account details to do the DD.

What kind of security is that? i wasnt even warned bout this DD if a Korean fetish company somehow find my account details they can have all i got and the bank does nothing??????
I received a warning letter from my bank in all my previous DDs, so i asked them why i wasnt informed this time, they told me i should see it in my monthly bank statement!!!


So before posting this on hexus I called ntl eager to known from where they got my details, it started as usual.

Enter your phone number….. plz press 1 for…2 for…. 3 for… I didnt press nothing so the operator would pick up, after a long wait a lady picks up and I ask her to move the call to the retentions, so i wait again long time … suddenly the machine says is now 5pm and customer service is closed… call ends

I was so surprised I just laughed.

[Clunk]

the bank have to refund your money if it was a direct debit that was taken in error, its one part of the direct debit guarantee. you bank probably wont refund you any charges that they have given you as a result of the error, so you can claim these back off ntl for now. see what retentions have to say first though.